Wood grape pattern birch skin bow used by Emperor Yongzheng

[Wood Grape Pattern Birch Skin Bow Used by Emperor Yongzheng]

Grape Face Birch Skin Bow, Qing Yongzheng, 179 cm long. It is made by the Qing Palace Building Office, and the Qing Palace is old
This bow is the royal bow of Yongzheng, Emperor Shizong of the Qing Dynasty. It is made of wood, with ox horn on the top and dyed birch skin on the back. The tip of the bow is wrapped with ox horn, bone cushion string, one bow string, and the middle of the bow is inlaid with a piece of warm wood for easy grasping. The attached two sheets of ink are full of Chinese characters: “Emperor Shizong’s grape-blossom bow four and a half”, and “Emperor Shizongxian’s grape-blossom bow is reserved for the eighth year of Qianlong”. The so-called “force” refers to the “bow force”, that is, the unit of force used to stretch the bow. Each “force” is 9 jin and 14 liang (1 jin in the Qing Dynasty is 16 liang)
In the process of making the bow, it is necessary to apply foam glue on the back of the bow. The more the glue is applied, the greater the force of the bow. The bow holder needs enough arm strength to pull it apart. According to the different weights of the tendons and glue on the bow, the Qing Dynasty divided it into the first to sixth grade bow and the first to eighteenth grade force. After the bow is made, the corresponding bow shall be distributed according to the strength of the soldier’s bow for combat training
Historically, the founder of Tuoji in the Qing Dynasty was all good at riding and shooting, and taught “Chinese riding and shooting” as the ancestral family law. As for the so-called “national language riding and shooting”, Mr. Wang Zhonghan, an expert in the history of the Qing Dynasty, interpreted “national language” as Manchu, which was also called “Qing language” in the Qing Dynasty; “Riding and shooting” means that you can shoot arrows (the center of the target) while riding a horse. This is a national stunt in the long-term hunting life of the Manchu nationality. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, cavalry and archery were regarded as one of the important subjects to assess the officers and soldiers of the Eight Banners, which was a powerful measure to safeguard the national rule and strengthen the armed forces.